“What exactly did you do?” I asked, my eyes narrowing.
The two elves looked at one another, a silent thought passing between them before they answered.
“We simply did ordinary things that would not have crossed any lines,” Regindir finally answered with a shrug. “At first we attempted to glean her feelings, to see if we could uncover any secrets she might have held, but that was a dead end. It turned out the only thing she seemed to care about was her studies. So one day we hid her pens, but she simply used a spell to create new ones. We tried to make her look like an idiot in class a couple of times, and we thought that worked pretty well, until Filmordir told us we were the ones who were wrong.”
I smiled; that sounded exactly like Amy.
“So then we just started playing pranks on her,” Portindir continued. “We would trip her on the way to class, that sort of thing.”
“Right,” Kyran said. “The sort of thing you couldn’t get in trouble for, but that was definitely meant to make Amy feel unwelcome.”
“That’s right,” Regindir said. “And for the most part, the elves were fine with it. After all, most of the elves in the law class aren’t betraying scum like you. Ungordir was the only species traitor like yourself. He would always stop to help her when we pranked her. We believe the elf might even like the witch. Can you imagine?”
The two elves started laughing like one of them had told the most ridiculous joke, and I felt sick to my stomach. I couldn’t believe elves like this were what Amy had to deal with every single day in her studies. She had never mentioned anything of the sort. We all knew it was going to be difficult to have her accepted as one of the elves, but I never imagined that she was having to deal with idiots like these two harassing her constantly.
“So neither one of you stole the exam papers?” Kyran asked, his eyes narrowing, and the two wizards shook their heads.
“Look, we might not have liked the witch, but we didn’t do that. That would have gotten us into actual trouble, and she’s not worth that.”
“Who do you think did it, then?” I asked.
“Probably that traitor, Ungordir,” Regindir replied.
“You literally just said he was the only elf who helped Amy. What reason could he possibly have had to steal her exam paper and others?” I said.
“Well, you never know with those types,” Portindir said. “After all, he’s obviously a traitor to all of elven kind, and there isn’t much worse in the world than that. If you allow that, you allow elves like Kyrandir here to exist, then all of society eventually collapses.”
“Yes, I can tell that I am the catalyst to the death of all elf-kind,” Kyran said dryly, a smile flittering across his lips. I always admired how well he handled the fact that the elves considered him to be a complete and total outcast.
“That’s right, you are,” Regindir said angrily. “You’re an elf, not a wizard or a vampire. Our societies have existed for thousands of years based on these rules, and elves like you and Ungordir are destroying everything our forefathers created with your willingness to bend the rules and to interact—or worse—with other paranormal species. We are superior to all of them and have always been. Your actions threaten all of our futures.”
I raised my eyebrows, not having expected that kind of passionate reaction. Next to him, Portindir nodded along. “That’s right,” he agreed. “It’s elves like you that ruin everything. Even your father, by pushing Filmordir to accept the witch into the classes, is helping to destroy the future of the elves. I always respected him, too. Your father was a good elf. It’s quite sad to see him make a decision like this.”
“What the two of you don’t realize is that the world is changing, and it’s changing at a much faster pace than what we elves are used to,” Kyran replied. “This isn’t the fall of the Roman empire, which took hundreds of years from start to finish. The human world is changing, and the paranormal world is changing, and soon enough the two of you are going to find yourselves being the outliers. You’re going to be sitting around wondering how the world has passed you by, complaining that things aren’t the way they used to be anymore, while the rest of us are all the better for it.”
“Oh please,” Regindir replied. “That’s not going to happen.”
“Really? Because I remember someone complaining a hundred years ago when female paranormals were finally allowed to work outside the home. And I remember someone complaining when the United States received this territory and we moved here from the east coast. And yet, each time you’ve complained about change, it has ended up being for the betterment of our people.”
“That was different,” Portindir argued. “They involved the elves, yes, but they still allowed us to live our lives without interference from other paranormals. This is something else entirely.”
“Right, just like how you said everything would change when female elves were allowed to begin working.”
“Things did change,” Regindir said.
“For the better,” Kyran replied. “But hey, by all means, keep sitting here drinking and complaining that things aren’t the same as they were hundreds of years ago. See how well that works out for you, and how happy you end up being.”
The two of us stood up then, and Kyran and I walked out of the bar, making our way to a set of stairs that led back down to the forest floor.
“So what do you think?” Kyran asked.
“I’m not sure,” I mused. “They definitely didn’t like the fact that Amy is in their classes, there’s no denying that. But I’m not sure they’re actually angry enough about it to take the exam papers. I think they might have been telling the truth about being too wimpy to do anything that might get them into any real trouble, at least when it comes to Amy.”
“I agree,” Kyran said. “They were extremely angry about the lives of elves changing, though.”
“They were. They seemed angrier about that than about Amy specifically. They were very mad about Ungordir being nice to her.”
“Yeah,” Kyran said. “For a lot of elves, the maintenance of the old ways is more important than anything else. I imagine they see Amy as a nuisance, yes, but still a witch. Elves tend to consider all other paranormals to be beneath them, so they may not consider her worthy enough to warrant getting in trouble over.”
“Strange,” I mused. “I wonder who stole the papers, then. It had to be an elf. Someone in the class.”
“I agree,” Kyran said. “But I think you’re right. I don’t think they did it. I don’t think they would have risked getting in trouble over a witch.”
“We need to find out who did, though,” I said. “After all, if they decide to just fail those five students, then Amy is going to be kicked out of the law class for something that wasn’t her fault at all.”
“I’ll see what I can find out,” Kyran said. “I think you have enough on your plate right now without having to worry about this. If I can get an answer for you, I’ll let you know.”
“Thanks, Kyran,” I said with a smile, then I sighed deeply. “I can’t wait for this to be all over, you know?”
“I do,” he replied.
“I also wonder if it’s going to be over for me permanently.” When Kyran didn’t look surprised in any way, I nodded. “So you know, don’t you?”
“Know what?”
“Just because the prophecy says I will destroy him doesn’t mean I won’t die in the process.”
“That’s right,” Kyran said. “I didn’t want to tell you, for obvious reasons. But if you’ve figured it out on your own, well, I’m not going to lie to you, either. The prophecy doesn’t state that you’re going to die, but it doesn’t state you’re going to make it out alive, either.”
“Frankly, anything happening is better than how I’m feeling now,” I replied. “I just want it to be over. And I don’t want anyone else getting hurt.”
“Right, but you have a whole bunch of people behind you who would be willing to get hurt or die if it meant pot
entially saving your life. Think of the risk you went through today to get Amy back. All of those witches think the same of you. I think the same of you. If my death meant you would get to live, I would lay down my life in an instant.”
I leaned into Kyran and pressed my face into his chest, inhaling his scent. “Thank you. But I can’t ask you to be involved in this. I can’t allow you to be. This is my fight, and I can’t risk anyone else getting hurt.”
“And yet, I think you’ll find a number of people will object to that,” Kyran said. “Let us help. This isn’t just your fight. We all want to fight for you.”
I took both Kyran’s hands and squeezed. “I don’t know what to say. My life has been flipped completely upside down in the best possible way since coming to Western Woods. I’m so happy here that even if my life has to end now, I would do it to save the people I love. I really would.”
“I know,” Kyran said. “I just hope you don’t have to.”
“Me too,” I whispered as I pulled away and the two of us made our way back toward town.
Chapter 17
Kyran dropped me back off at The Witching Flour, where Tora, Ellie, and Sara were just getting ready to close up shop for the night.
“How did it go?” Ellie asked, and I shook my head.
“Not well. We don’t know who took the papers, and if we don’t figure it out they’re possibly going to fail Amy. And then everything she’s worked for is going to end.”
“No,” Sara said, her shoulders sagging. “They can’t do that! It’s not fair!”
“That’s what I said,” I replied. “But apparently they can. Kyran is making enquiries to try and find out who might have stolen the exams. Hopefully he figures something out.”
“Good,” Sara said. “He knows all the elves, and he can basically read their thoughts, right?”
I shook my head. “No, it doesn’t work that way. He can sense how we’re feeling because we’re not elves, but elves can’t do it to each other. But you’re right, Kyran does know all of the elves. Even though they’re not big fans of him, they’re still more likely to talk to him than to us. He’ll find out what he can.”
“I’m glad,” Ellie said. “It would be a shame for Amy to get cheated out of her spot studying law.”
“I don’t know Amy, but I hope you find the exams,” Tora said. “I want her to do well. I think it’s high time paranormals be able to do whatever they want, regardless of what species they were born into.”
“Now, the real question,” Ellie said with a grin. “Who’s the poor sap who draws the short wand and has to go tell her?”
I groaned. “Why don’t we just put that off for as long as possible? Maybe we’ll get lucky and Kyran will find the missing exams before we have to tell her they disappeared at all.”
“Alright, we do that,” Ellie said. “It’s a problem for future witches to deal with. For now, all we say is we haven’t heard any results. Which is technically true.”
I hated lying to my friends, but at the same time, I knew Amy would go insane if she knew what had really happened to her exam. Forget Titan, I was way more scared of an Amy who thought she was going to fail an exam than I was the most evil wizard to have ever walked the earth.
“If it’s alright with you, I’m going to go hang out by the lake,” I said. “I’m just feeling a little bit overwhelmed and wouldn’t mind a few minutes to relax.”
“Sure,” Ellie said. “No evil wizards came after us today, so I think the portals got sealed off in time. We’ve staved off kidnapping or an untimely death for yet another day.”
“I’m glad,” I said. “I’ll meet you back at the hospital, ok?”
“Sure. Do you want to pick up some pizza on your way over? Or we can do it.”
“No, I will,” I replied. “I pick way better flavors than you do, anyway.”
“Pineapple does not belong on a pizza, ever, and I will die on that hill,” Ellie replied.
“See? Wrong opinions all over the place,” I said with a grin. “I’ll see you in a bit.”
I made my way back out into the warm, end-of-summer afternoon sun and walked over toward the Coven Gardens. It was a gorgeous afternoon, but the thought stayed in the back of my mind: what if this was my last afternoon?
I really needed to get this over and done with. I needed to find Titan, I needed to have the final showdown, and I needed to make sure that my friends were safe. That was all I wanted in the world.
I made my way to the lake as stress began to overtake me. A part of me wanted to cry, but I couldn’t. Instead I looked out over the water and took a few deep breaths. Chief Enforcer King was going to help. Lita was going to help. We had a few days before the borders were going to have to be re-opened. A few days to come up with a plan that would help everyone come out of this alive. It wasn’t hopeless.
There was still time, and with a little bit of help from my friends, hopefully we would all emerge virtually unscathed. That was the most important thing to me: my friends.
I was tempted to dip my feet into the water, but I also recognized that it was a terrible idea. After all, the last time I had done so, Titan had used my proximity to the water somehow to get close to me. And sure, showing me the image of Amy had meant we were able to save her, but now that she was saved, I wanted absolutely no contact with Titan if I could help it. I was definitely going to appreciate the water from shore today.
Sure enough, as I gazed out over the lake, still and calm, almost perfectly reflecting the nearby trees, it was enough to help me feel a little bit more grounded. The feeling of impending panic passed, even as a light breeze made its way through the gardens, turning the mirror in front of me into ripples. It was like mother nature was wiping the slate clean and starting again.
I smiled into the water for a couple of seconds until I realized something was wrong. The ripples were getting bigger, much bigger than what was natural. Something wasn’t right here.
Looking around to see what was going on, I couldn’t spot anything out of the ordinary. There were a couple of wizards to my left, probably three hundred feet away, and they were steadily walking in the other direction, away from the lake. Evidently, they were just as perturbed about this as I was.
I pulled out my wand as the ripples in the lake grew larger, when suddenly, a giant whirlpool formed in the middle of the lake. I gasped; I had never seen anything like this before. From the middle of the whirlpool rose a wizard.
Despite never having laid eyes on him before, I knew who this was. It was Titan.
He was dressed exactly like a stereotypical wizard from the human world. Long white robes, holding a matching wooden staff. His hair was gray, his beard long, but he didn’t carry himself like an old man. In fact, he was quite spry as he rose from the whirlpool and began walking along the water toward me, like it was nothing. It was like there was an invisible catwalk an inch below the surface of the water.
I took a step back, holding my wand out toward him.
“Don’t,” I called out. “Don’t come near me.”
“My daughter,” he said, his voice low and gravelly. As he got closer, standing knee-high in the water now, I could make out the details of his face. I tried not to gasp but failed. He really did look exactly like me. “My eldest daughter.”
“Yeah,” I replied. I felt like I was going to puke. How on earth had he gotten here? Weren’t the portals secure? What was going on? Still, I forced myself to look confident. If I looked like I was a weakling, I wouldn’t get anywhere. “That’s me. The daughter you tried to have killed.”
“That’s right,” Titan replied. “I did. And yet your mother managed to elude me. She sent you to the human world, didn’t she? Is that where you came from?”
“Yes,” I replied. “I grew up in Seattle, adopted by two lovely people who passed away a few years back. They’re my real parents, as far as I’m concerned. You’re just a genetic donor.”
Titan laughed. The sound froze my insides and I swall
owed hard.
“A genetic donor. You must be joking. Tina, your father is one of the most powerful wizards to ever walk the land.”
“And I’m the daughter who’s prophesized to destroy you,” I replied with as much gumption as I could muster. I really hated people who were as arrogant as the man in front of me. He laughed again.
“How long have you known you’re a witch?”
“Just over a year.”
“And you think that you, a witch who barely understands how magic works, would be able to defeat me, one of the most powerful wizards in history? I know what the prophecy says. The prophecy is wrong. There is no way you will be able to defeat me.”
Yup, this dude was so arrogant I was ashamed to stake a claim to half his DNA. Still, while I was here, I figured I might as well get some answers.
“Fine, if you’re going to kill me, you might as well tell me a few things I’ve been wondering about first. Tell me about my biological mother. Who was she?”
“I suppose I can tell you that. She was from the coven of Titan as well, and her name was Roxanne. We had been friends growing up, although we drifted apart after I went away to study. When I came back, she was there, still waiting for me. She knew about the prophecy, and she swore she would never have my children. All she wanted was to be with me, forever.
“Then, one day, she told me she was pregnant. She must have hidden it from me for a while; looking closely at her she had to be at least five or six months along. She told me she didn’t know what happened, and looking into her eyes, I believed her. She really had no clue. I told her she had to get rid of it, and she nodded. She told me she would, and I didn’t see her for six months after that.”
“Did you know she had gone to the human world?” I asked, my voice sounding shaky. I had never known anything about my biological mother.
“No,” Titan replied. “I scoured the paranormal world looking for her. I knew what she had done, of course. She had changed her mind, and she was going to have the child. The child that I knew was destined to destroy me. It took six months, but I found her. She was hiding in Asia, and once she saw it was me, she threw herself off a cliff. She knew I would have tortured her until she’d given up the location of the child. I was devastated. Now I had no way to find this child.”
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